A wander around Borough Market and Borough Yards

The skies are [finally] blue here in London and it's hot hot HOT. Hurrah!

People often say that the sun has come out but they forget that it's always up there burning ferociously, but usually covered by clouds. When it's as hot as this, it gets me thinking about the power of those clouds, wondering if there is a tog rating for cloud blankets as per duvets.

Anyway, enough about the weather. I went to Tate Modern on Monday afternoon and afterwards, as I wandered the backstreets heading towards London Bridge, I snapped a few pics, inc these two:

Whist I despise the Tate's modern extension to Gilbert Scott's elegant Bankside power station, I do rather like the graphic patchwork patterns that can be achieved by zooming in on it. Nearby there's a lovely glimpse of St Paul's through the trees. 

I crossed over Southwark Street and, as I went under the railway lines and looked left/east, I noticed that the patterns from the metalwork above were making shadows that echoed the Shard in the distance. The Shard dominates the area as shown by my second pic here where it looms over the beautiful old façade of a hop dealer's premises in Borough High Street...

My intention had been to head to London Bridge and catch a bus home to Holloway but as it was such a nice day with not so many people about I let myself go wandering. I headed into Borough Market which was mostly clear after a busy trading morning, meaning signage and imagery is easier to see.

And then an amble around the streets that surround the market. I've long been fascinated by this building that faces Southwark Cathedral and when I get a moment I will find out who/what BMT stands for, seen within its 1897 marker.

Adjacent to this building there are a couple of old bollards from the 1820s and some corner protectors of interest:

I walked to the riverside and noticed that the modern crane being used to redevelop a nearby building that is covered in scaffolding and white protective material echoed the masts on the replica of The Golden Hind. Again, nice patterns and colours:

I then stood and admired the view of the City of London across the River Thames – OK, let's be honest, I went in the pub and had a beer on the terrace and admired the view from there(!): 

This pic shows how many London landmarks are visible from this spot – a double decker red London bus on London Bridge is going past Adelaide House (the first reinforced concrete office block; an Art Deco era marvel that is currently undergoing internal renovation), then there's The Walkie Talkie, The Gherkin, 22 Bishopsgate, lots of other tall buildings that have names I can't remember right now, and a glimpse of Tower 42... all here surrounding what would have been one of the biggest buildings it its day, the Grade II* listed Fishmongers Hall, built 90 years before Adelaide House in the early 1830s.

By this time it was almost 6pm and the shadows cast by the sun were marvellous. I took few pics near The Clink Museum:

Plus a couple of myself near the newly developed Borough Yards, a clever repurposing of the arches beneath the railway lines:

There are some interesting things here. I specifically like the neon boards that resembles the signs that used to be outside cinemas, but here illustration the diverse range of trades and professions here throughout the many decades, and someone has highlighted that the bottom of the metal brackets look like faces:

Deckchairs are currently arranged in front of a large screen where the Olympics is being shown. Men's gymnastics is amazing. Here I bumped into some people I had chatted to at Tate Modern. How delightful. We chatted for quite a while and swapped contact details. 

I finally headed home. Walking towards London Bridge via Winchester Walk there was another lovely view, this time of the cathedral bathed in late afternoon sunshine (about 7.20pm).

What a lovely afternoon. 

Our Lady of Carmel procession 2024 and some nearby Italian Catholic churches

Yesterday afternoon I wandered down to Clerkenwell Road to watch the procession in London's "Little Italy" – an event that has been going since 1880. The route starts and ends at St Peter's church. Today they release a sprinkling of tinsel rather than live doves at the start of the procession and then a series of floats circles the area, interspersed by community/religious groups carrying banners. 

I must say that the last time I went to watch this it was a far more exuberant affair, more of a celebration. I think that was 2018 but I don't seem to have written it up on here. This year, in comparison, I found it all a bit staid and quiet. A shame, as I had been expecting colourful, noisy Italians, celebrating their culture.

Some of the floats depicting religious scenes were marvellous, as shown above. However, judging from their attire, many of the people walking in the parade looked like they they'd been roped in at the last minute, and this included those representing biblical characters who also looked a bit shabby, especially in the footwear department. For instance, it was evident that Mary and Joseph had thrown their costumes on over their regular clothes which included chunky black strappy wedges and pale blue trainers, respectively. Hmmm, couldn't these important figures have found some sandals, as per the sterling efforts of some children later in the parade?!

Incidentally, I recently read that Casa Italiana, one of Little Italy's main social hubs, is under threat of closure. Read more here.

After the procession had finished, I wandered past the tempting food and drink stalls in the adjacent streets but decided not to stop. Instead I headed towards Angel and Upper Street and, as I wandered into Exmouth Market, I saw that the door to Our Most Holy Redeemer was open and so I went inside. I've many times admired it's unusually elegant exterior, but (here we go again...) I have never properly looked inside before! 

As you can see, it's gorgeous. Being as everyone was else was at the festival down the hill, I was the only person in there apart from a lady who was attending to the flowers. 

It is an absolute delight. I was immediately attracted to twelve Stations Of The Cross here carved in low relief within panels. The design and composition is sublime and very early C20th/Arts&Crafts. I've not seen the like before.

I asked the lady if she knew who had made them. She suggested William Morris or a contemporary of his and I said I'd find out later.* It turns out Chris, for that is her name, was a marvellous company and easy to chat to as, for the next 15 mins, we walked around the whole interior admiring the 12 panels and the other lovely artworks there. A small piece of the ceiling fell down on her as we walked. The Venetian style architecture is crumbling, evident that the building is in need of some attention. 

Back out in the street, I was intrigued to notice that The Exmouth Arms bears the date 1915 – how odd to be constructing a pub in the middle of WWI. 

Ghosts of old shops in Exmouth Market 

Alley at the side of the church and the date stamp on The Exmouth Arms

And then up Amwell Street to the late-Georgian simplicity of St Peter and Pauls' Catholic church where the doors were also open, so, of course, I went inside. I was immediately greeted by a sign telling visitors to be silent. I appeared to be the only person in there. I sat for at least five minutes admiring the lovely stained/coloured glass windows, the sculptures and the paintings and when I stood up I noticed that two young girls were sitting quietly on the floor within the aisle. It was only the shutter sound on my phone camera that occasionally broke the silence.

On the way out I noticed these donation boxes.

I wonder which of the three garnered the most dosh?! There's also a modern touch screen app doobrey thing.

I then continued my amble up to Upper Street via Myddelton and Claremont Squares and along Pentonville Road. It was a lovely wander. 

*Chris says she says Wm Morris to anyone who asks! A bit of sleuthing and I've discovered that the panels were carved by John Crawford who, it seems, whilst being was amazingly talented and prolific, was barely known of until ten years ago. Find out more here. 

Overpainted Unigate tiles at The Old Dairy, Crouch Hill

Last year I wrote about some shops near Highbury & Islington station and the loss of a lovely tiled interior that was evidence of its previous life as a Unigate Dairy. 

More recently, whilst checking a route for walking tour I was going lead for the Stroud Green Women's Institute, I was standing opposite The Old Dairy at the junction of Crouch Hill and Stroud Green Road and I took some photos, including the one below. 

The Friern Manor Dairy Company, of East Dulwich, installed this marvellous red brick entranceway in 1891, complete with the impressive scraffito panels, and managed the site until 1919 when it became a franchise of Premier Dairies.  I recalled that by the mid-1920s it was under the Unigate Dairies umbrella.  

Hmmm, I thought... is there any evidence of this? So I went to look closer.

Shown here is a screengrab from Google Streetview of the corner section at 1-3 Crouch Hill, before the pub reopened in Spring 2024. This would have been the shop where customers could have bought their milk, butter and other dairy products. Under a few layers of dark paint, hints of 4" tiles and chevroned border panels can be seen peeping through either side of the door. You'll have to take my word for it, or go and see for yourself, because it's very hard to photograph.

The interior of the shop would have also have had tiled walls in the same design, as per the Highbury shop, and I am convinced (or possibly deluded) that I recall remnants of those tiles in there when it first opened as a pub in 1997. But today the walls are all panelled and painted dark green. Considering that it’s called The Old Dairy, making a big deal of the building’s heritage, you'd think they would have retained as much visual history as possible. 

Please do let me know if you have further info or pics of this Stroud Green shop – jane@janeslondon.com or add a comment below.

This has now got me thinking about other tiled dairy outlets across London that have been converted for other use and how I really ought to pull a collection together. I'm surprised that I haven't already done this – watch this space, though don't hold your breath!

Update on the horrid revamp of Willen House, Bath Street, Moorfields, EC1– a unique example of architecture from the 1940s

Almost two and a half years ago I wrote this piece about the proposals for the overhaul of Willen House, an unusual 'art Deco' style building in Moorfields. Since then I often take a detour if I am in the area to see what's happening, approaching the building with trepidation, scared at what I might find. With so much time having elapsed, I wondered if, perhaps, the plans had changed.

Here's the building looking fab on Google Streetview in August 2022:

And here's mosaic of some of my photos showing how marvellous it looks when the sun is shing

Earlier this week, I wandered eastwards from Central Street along Lever Street towards Bath Street. The rear of Willen House appeared to be as was (phew!) and the Lever Street side seemed OK:

But, as I turned the corner into Bath Street, I was horrified to see that they've hacked away at the tiles on the corner, for what purpose I do not know. The commemorative plaque stating that this building was opened in 1948 surely meaning very little to today's property developers (see more about this further down). I hope they, at least, keep the plaque in situ.

Moving round into Bath Street, scaffolding was being erected on the Galway Street side: 

I noticed that the interiors were gutted and the ugly secondary glazing has already been removed. Sections of tiles have been chipped away in strips along the front of the building. I wondered why. But what I couldn't find a board or panel showing the plans and contact details for the contractors and architects as is normal in situations like this. 

A bit of sleuthing online and I discover that tp bennett architects is no longer listing this as a project on their site. Instead, Infrasture Investments has instructed Beachrock to create a 208-bedroom scheme at a cost of £60million, due to be completed in 2025 – a scheme that could have been slightly cheaper had they not budgeted so much money on unnecessary paint. A brochure here tells the full story. Whilst I am all for a much-needed upgrade of the interior spaces, I cannot fathom how and why Islington Council's planning department approved the alterations to the main façade.  

I am upset, disappointed, bordering on furious, at the rape of this very unusual building, constructed in the 1940s, a decade when barely anything interesting was built, let alone something of this quality, due to austerity after after WW2. Indeed, I am only aware of a couple of other developments that were constructed in the 1940s, also special in their own way:

1940 – The Coronet PH, Holloway Road, N7, was originally opened as The Savoy Cinema. Stayed open during WW2. The date 1940 can also be seen on the hoppers on Senate House (on the Russell Square side), but these are later additions being as the building was completed in 1937.

1941 – I'm pretty sure that Russell Square House, at the corner of Woburn Place, was completed in 1941. These government offices were under construction when WW2 broke out. There are some interesting ventilation grilles at low level that, to me, look like Union Jack flags.

1942–1945 – I am not aware of any buildings constructed in these years. However, in 1943, the County Plan For London was implemented.

1946 – The New River Company's Claremont Close housing development, Islington, accessed from Claremont Square.

1947 – Wall Court, Stroud Green Road, N4. This well-designed housing development was quickly followed by similar schemes in 1948 at nearby Lawson Court, Wiltshire Court and Marquis Court as well as houses in Osbourne Rd.   

1949–1950 – Nothing in my files. But, surely, there must be other residential schemes in other parts of London that I am not aware of, as well as municipal buildings, such as school, libraries, police stations and town halls...? Hmm, I wonder if they were all too busy planning exciting things for 1951's Festival of Britain. 

I am struggling to find any other examples from this decade. Please do let me know if you can add to the list. 

As I have said before, if Willen House had been constructed for/by a well-known name such as M&S there would have been a public outcry, as per the proposals that were overturned in Oxford Street. 

Let me know your thoughts.

London street signs – additions to postal zones

My last post mentioned a patch added to a sign along The Broadway in Woodford. This got me thinking about the many additions and changes to street name signage across London. This became necessary as an area has became so populated that the postal district had to be sub-divided, such as Holloway N, becoming Holloway N7, etc. 

As London expanded, districts needed to be defined to prevent confusion between, for instance, Brewer Street in Soho and a road by the same name in another part of the metropolis, and so simple points of the compass were added. More often than not a complete new batch of signs was created to replace/cover the old ones. But in some places, a little patch or tile was added adjacent to the existing name plate, such as these examples in Soho where a small white tile bearing a red W for West has been added next  to the brown and white 1870's tiles that show the street name:

Soho's single letter square tiles are perhaps copies of the similar, earlier, more elegant ones in the Hampstead area where there are also some later additions:

Single letter tiles can also be found in nearby Loveridge Road NW6. Near there you'll also find some lovely blue and white vitreous enamel signs, such as this one in Oxford Road which, like many others in that vicinity, has a little metal plate to the side: 

But surely a more effective and visually pleasing amendment would have been to make small blue enamel [N.W.6.] signs in a condensed typeface to competed cover the N.W. within the sign itself? These could have then been spot welded to the original sign. Hey, but what do I know?!

This extraneous patch device can also be found in W8, as shown below in Cromwell Grove where the little metal tiles that display the full postcode of that era have been better designed completes with fancy corners and affixed centred under the street sign. But where is West W6?!

In Strode Road NW10, it looks like the local council was on a money and time saving exercise as the basic little hand-painted metal add-ons here look like they were created cheaply and attached in a hurry. Incidentally, the punctuation on these old signs often intrigues me. Full points, and sometimes semi-colons too, randomly applied, like a game of Spot The Difference. For instance what happened to the full point after W on the Cromwell Grove sign? But I digress. 

Finally, staying in NW10, in the well-to-do Chamberlayne Road area there are elegant cast metal N.W. signs that also have little 10s attached to the side or below them, but here we can see that the contractor remembered to use a spirit level:

I do like these little quirky add-ons. When councils created complete new street name plates they were mostly fixed directly over the previous one. There are, however, instances where new signs were placed adjacent to the old ones which can be a bit confusing. I will compile a collection of some of my favourite oddities in a future post. 

Chemists, Chymists, Pharmacists and Druggists – three in one week

Last week, on Monday 17th June, I was in North West London presenting a talk for the Northwood Hills U3A group. Afterwards I went to Wembley to check on a couple of ghostsigns – this one for a Daimler dealer and this one for a butcher's shop. I am glad to report that both are still intact. 

As I made my way towards the station, a bus came along headed for Ealing Broadway and so I got on that instead. I do like a mystery tour, and sitting on the top deck of a bus is a wonderful way to see places I barely know. The route went through Alperton (all new to me) and ended at bus stop 'A' at the northern end of The Broadway here.

As I disembarked, I noticed a marvellous old chemist shop at No.36 – much of D.Lewis's Art Nouveau shop fittings are intact both inside and out. Coloured glass, curved windows, bronze fittings, marble plinths and more. The interior looks to have much of the wooden shelving, display cases and drawers. For some reason I didn't go inside. Instead, I just took a couple of snaps making a mental note to return and properly investigate the whole parade another day when I had more time.

Two days later I was in Woodford, waiting for a friend and admiring the parade of shops that is also called The Broadway. I noticed at number 12 a carved and gilded sign for Chrystall, chemist and druggist. The shop also boasts lovely window displays which include metal frames, and curved and red glass etched with the services available. 

When my friend arrived, we went inside to investigate the shop's interior and found that the whole left side still retains it's wooden displays and shelving. I took just one photo, of the exterior, shown above right (the one on the left is a google screen grab from here). We walked along the street to see what other similar delights might be on offer and found that most of this parade still has elements of the original shops. As we walked past number 12 (four doors from the chemist, consecutive numbering, and now Euronics) I happened to notice that there were words at low level around the glass windows advertising confectionary [sic] and chocolates. 

Looking into the shop, I noticed that they had an old carved and gilded sign on the side wall at the rear of the shop, and it looked practically the same as the one at the chemist's. We went inside and chatted to the staff, who were lovely. Whilst they didn't know much about the sign or the Hermann family, they were clearly proud to have this impressive chunk of local history on their wall:

 

This sign for Hermann Brothers, Pastry cooks and confectioners (correctly spelled!) is very impressive and unlike any I have seen before. Rather than a plain black background, this has a marble green and black effect which I am sure would have been top-of-the-range expensive, hinting at the quality of products the Hermann Bros would have made and the kind of well-to-do people that would have lived in this area before the tube line arrived. The bottom right corner of the sign shows that the sign was made by Brilliant Signs* of Grays Inn Road, though I'd be surprised if they installed the sloppily applied/wonky later addition of 'Limited' as a stuck on patch (under Bros). It's interesting that 'confectioner' is spelled with an 'e' on the sign board but with an 'a' within the etched glass. 

And then, on Friday 21st June, I was wandering through Tyburnia, Connaught Village and the Hyde Park Estate, following a route specified in an old 1960's guidebook about old pubs and taverns to see if what was written about then was still in place today. I then crossed over Edgware Road and headed along Crawford Street, a street that also contains remnants of Victorian shops. It includes the marvelllous signage and multicoloured lantern of Meacher, Higgins & Thomas, chemists:

Again, I only took a few quick snaps, although this time I did go inside to chat to the owners. They are really proud about the history of their shop. I said I was embarrassed that although I had known about the shop for decades, since I worked round the corner in the late 1980s, yet I hade never stepped inside until now. 

Well, it turns out there's more old signage in there, plus glass jars and some of the orignal fittings in the form of wooden drawers and shelving. The exterior gilded sign is another one made by Brilliant Signs (see under 1814), a company name that appears on many of the best signs of this era*. 

There are, of course, many other lovely old chemist shops across London, but the three that immediately spring to mind are these – Walden, 65 Elizabeth Street, Belgravia, Allchin, 28 Englands Lane (but, since 2014, the lovely gilded script has been covered by dullness) and K.King at 35 Amwell Street, Islington:

Finally, a couple of ghostsigns featuring chemist's shops. There are many I could include here, but I suspect the two that people will recognise the most are these two – Boots facing Camden Town tube station and Dean's on Clapham Pavement on the north side of the common.

*I have built up quite a collection of signs made by this company and I really ought to pull together a blog post to showcase them.

Big, beautiful boot scrapers

I've been wandering around and properly investigating the St. James's area a lot these past few years, yet until earlier this week I hadn't noticed some superb metalwork within the entrance to 50 St. James's Street. Considering that I have quite a large photographic collection of London boot scrapers, I was confused how I'd managed to miss this enormous pair of decorated beauties either side of the door. 

A sign near the entrance says that the building is being renovated. There are remnants of scaffold pole footers and the whole thing needs a wash and brush up. The boot scrapers are sublime. I have never before seen any so opulently decorated. The lanterns at the top of the street level posts are no longer in place, hence why they are cropped out of my phots here, but their gas feeds are still evident below their three-legged struts. I had an inkling that building this would have originally been one of the area's many gentlemen's clubs as per White's, Boodle's, Brook's etc. But what was it more recently? I needed to do some delving.

Well, it turns out that for over 12 years this site has been behind scaffolding or under wraps of some kind which is evidence by looking at Google's retrospective street views. In 2012 the site shows that the building looked like the image above. 

A quick bit of googling and Wikipedia tells us that this is an 1827 Grade II listed building that was has been a gentleman's club (yes!*), a bridge club in the 1920s and then various casinos or gaming institutes. There are plans to convert the building for use as either a hotel or as residential properties. However, the written timeline in that Wiki link doesn't seem to correlate with the google streetview which clearly show that scaffolding was in place by August 2014 so I am a bit confused when the squatters were there.     

This 2012 image show the lovely gas-fired lamps beautifully silhouetted. I suspect that the lanterns were removed for safety reasons during the building works and I am hoping that, going forward, they will be reinstated, complete with the gas feed as per other lamps in this area, rather than retrofitted with LEDs.

* had I applied my brain I could have worked that this was William Crockford 's club – he was an interesting character to say the least!

Ooh ooh – more woodblocks sighted in Camden Town

Rushing from a bus stop opposite Sainsbury's to Camden Town tube station yesterday, I glanced down at the kerb outside the pub on the corner (these days called The Camden Eye, previously The Halfway House and many more names pre-that) and I noticed a man hole cover plate half filled with wood blocks. 

I just took a quick snap, above left. The second pic is a screengrab from Google Streetview here.

I have added it to the A-Z of Woodblocks here

It's a wrap! Marvellous metal in Greville Street by Groupwork + Amin Taha

I was wandering along Leather Lane becoming a bit despondent, thinking how this previously vibrant street market had completley lost its proper 'anything and everything you need' vibe as it was when I worked in the area in the early 1980s. I mused that it was still possible to buy a wide range of products here until the early 2000s. Then Covid-19 hit our street markets hard* and these days all you are likely to find here is street food, although I'd counter that buying a meal in a box that you need to sit down and eat with cutlery on a flat surface doesn't constitute street food. For instance, there are no stalls selling, bacon butties, bite-sized snacks, pretzels or pasties, never mind fried locusts on sticks. Anyway... I digress.

Memories of Leather Lane market got me thinking about the places and businesses that were in the Hatton Garden area in the early 1980s when I used to work for a small advertising agency in Bleeding Hart Yard – a name that almost people thought I'd made up – no need to swear love! I can't recall anyone back then talking about the bloody legend of the spurned lady which I only ever saw on a panel outside the wine bar in the corner of the yard. Today you can find a fuller explanation of that legend written on the windows of the pub at the corner of BHYard and Greville Street, as shown in pic above which is is a screen grab from Google dated 2020. It certainly wasn't a pub in the 1980s or else I'd have used it! A friend tells me it was a café back then, but I don't recall that. 

These days I am more interested in the building on the left side of that pic which, being a few years ago, shows a sample of what was to happen here, attached to the corner as a test piece. 

Here's what it looks like now... Well, it's marvellous. Amin Taha, the man who gave us these delights in Clerkenwell Green and Upper Street, has done it again!  

From a distance it looks like brick/stone. But on closer inspection, you'll see it's a mesh surround that allows light through to the main construction. So clever. Venture into BHYd to see how the details continue around the building. I'll leave it at that. Go see for yourself, or find out more here. 

I used to work in the building that's partially visible in the first picture, although these windows were part of my boss's office (I recall looking at lovely sunsets from here) – my drawing board/desk was on the room on the other side of the building, facing east.

*Markets – In 2011 I wrote about how London street markets were gradually diminishing. The big supermarkets offering a one-stop-shop, trollies and car parking, have been a major factor here, and I hear that youngsters are not keen to continue a stall-holding businesses when their costermonger parents retire. It's a shame. A someone who grew up in Romford with its huge bustling market, selling everything from apples and pears to records and puppies, I have fondness for stall-based shopping.